1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an expandable implement attachment and more particularly to a selectively expandable and retractable bucket/scraper designed for connection to a driven vehicle or implement such as a tractor, truck, skid steer vehicle or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Implement attachments such as loading buckets, scrapers and the like are available for selective attachment to a wide variety of self-propelled driven vehicles or implements such as tractors, trucks, bulldozers, skid steer vehicles and the like. These implement attachments are selectively attached to and detached from such vehicles by quick attachment mechanisms known in the art.
For the most part, such implement attachments have a fixed configuration and size which is designed for performing a particular task such as lift, carry and dump or pushing or scraping, etc. Thus, if different tasks need to be performed, this normally involves changing implement attachments. Further, implement attachments such as buckets and scrapers come in a variety of sizes with different load capacities, different widths, etc. Thus, if a bucket with a different load capacity or a bucket or scraper with a different width is needed or desired, several implement attachments must be maintained and periodically attached to and detached from the vehicle as particular needs change. This requires the maintenance of an inventory of several implement attachments such as loading buckets of different capacities and scrapers and buckets of different widths. Significant downtime is also required to change from one implement attachment to another. Further, when the business of the driven vehicle owner requires travel to a variety of work sites or locations such as snow removal and the like, the transport of several implement attachments to those work sites is often required.
Accordingly, there is a need for a single implement attachment or a limited number of implement attachments which are capable of performing a variety of tasks such as lift, carry and dump as well as scraping and which are capable of being adjusted to provide different load capacities and different widths.